Week five matches to mark 9 May disaster
Accra Stadium disaster portion now ready for use
Stars coach set for appointment
Ian Porterfield is new coach of Kotoko, Board is unware!
Hearts urge referees to protect star players
Boxing - James Toney’s final test?
Accra (Greater Accra) 07 May 2002 - Soccer fans who anticipate the resumption of the domestic premiership with bated breath will have their curiosity satisfied when the fifth week duels fall in a mid-week fray. For the first time this season, patrons who have been waiting desperately to see a continuous flow of the league via mid-week action will have their prayers answered, courtesy the 9 May anniversary celebrations.
To comply with the recommendation by the Government White
Paper, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) suspended the fifth week matches
and wanted to organise a friendly in its stead between Accra Hearts of Oak and
Kumasi Asante Kotoko (whose clash resulted in the tragedy last year) to
commemorate the occasion. But after that match fell through, the FA in its
wisdom decided to keep the day solemn in reverence to the 126 departed souls,
thus the absence of league action last Sunday.
And even though the various teams are expected to be in a mourning mood, that will definitely have no effect on their ambitions as they will as usual go all out in search of victory. However, the most attractive feature will be the power play between Hearts and Kotoko with the top spot as the focus. So far, defending champions Hearts have not hidden their intention to maintain their hold on the title once again as they hold an enviable record of four victories in as many matches.
Their main adversaries whose attention has been divided following their
continental campaign made a significant impact on their last two games which
propelled them from the bottom to their current fourth place. All they needed
to make the difference were 5-0 and 2-0 wins over RTU and Mine Stars at home.
Having strongly re-launched their mission for the title, it will be interesting
to witness how they sustain the chase on the Phobians in the subsequent weeks.
But the respective matches of Hearts and Kotoko on Wednesday do not signal any
effect on the five-point gap separating them as they are both tipped to secure
vital home victories. Between the two, it is Kotoko who will likely face a
tougher assignment as they play host to perennially stubborn opponents, Dawu
Youngsters.
For Hearts, dealing with Berekum Arsenals will not be much of a bother, even though the visitors will surely flex their muscles in a manner typical of a toothless bulldog. If for nothing at all, the 15 points mission by the Phobians will urge them on to maintain their clean sheet after the fifth week.
To add salt to injury, the exit of Kotoko's expatriate coach, Ernst Middendorp,
coupled with the current managerial crisis, are among issues the players will
grapple with when they engage in tomorrow's battle. As a prelude, Liberty and
Okwawu United will raise the curtain on Tuesday when they clash in an
interesting match.
Having finally broken through with their maiden victory which came by way of a 3-0 massacre of Great Olympics, the confidence of coach Silas Tetteh's boys has certainly been buoyed. Liberty will therefore be expected to go for their second win with the league's top scorer, Ernest Papa Arko, leading their attack as usual.
Obuasi Goldfields will have to put their house in order if
they want to avoid being overtaken by events when they host Power FC at Len
Clay. After tasting their first defeat at the hands of Bofoakwa at Sunyani last
week, Coach Oti Akenten will surely aim at making amends by getting back to
winning ways by brushing aside their opponent’s challenge.
At Bolga, Olympics' interest will not be served when they play as guests of struggling RTU while Maxbees are the likely candidates for the three maximum points in their match against Hasaacas at Koforidua. Fresh from their surprise 1-0 away win over Hasaacas, B.A. United will be motivated to dispatch King Faisal home with nothing to show, with Mine Stars facing the might of Bofoakwa at Prestea.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 07 May 2002 - At long last, the North Stand of the Accra Sports Stadium (popularly referred to as the Ade Coker Stand), which usage was barred following the 9 May Stadium disaster, will be ready for use by soccer fans as from this Saturday.
And to herald the occasion, an inter-faith church service is expected to be held at the Stadium on Thursday 9 May, exactly a year after the horrific incident, which claimed 126 lives. Supporters of Okwawu United and Real Tamale United (RTU) may have the first taste of the rehabilitated stand as they clash on Saturday at the Accra Stadium in a sixth week league encounter.
It would be followed on Sunday with a match between Accra Great Olympics and Obuasi Goldfields. A visit to the stadium by newsmen showed of a re-fix of plastic chairs that were vandalised by rioting soccer fans, at the North Stand. In all, 1094 chairs, including damaged ones from various stands have been replaced.
In an interview, acting Chief Executive of the National Sports Council (NSC), Dr Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, revealed that removing destroyed chairs and erecting the new ones amounted to ¢35 million.
A monument, to serve as a symbol of peace, love and unity is also to be fixed at the main entrance of the stadium. Dr Owusu-Ansah cautioned fans to protect state property, “because when you destroy them it is your own taxes that go into the repair work. “Let’s all endeavour to build the spirit of sportsmanship without which we shall never accept defeat in good faith- and that’s dangerous,” he advised.
The acting Chief Executive also hinted that the revamped stand would bear the inscription ‘May 9 Stand’. The contract was undertaken by DyGate Company Limited.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 07 May 2002 - Black Stars coach in
waiting, Zivadinovic Millan, must be anxious to begin his assignment with less
than two weeks for him to test his new team against Slovenia's World Cup squad
in Ljucljana on 17 May.
The 58-year-old Yugoslav, pencilled to begin duty with the Black Stars on May 1, has had to stay put at his home country as the Ghana Football Association awaits the final endorsement from government. Ghana Football Association sources have indicated that Millan is all set to take up the appointment at the Black Stars in preference to continuing at club side, Obilic, which he led to second place in the Yugoslav league and thus qualification for the UEFA Champions league next season.
He is said to be particularly excited at the prospect of being at the helm of
the national team of a country so much endowed with football talents yet has
found qualification for the World Cup an arduous task. It is a challenge he
wants to take up and immediately.
“At first, we wanted him to come down and have a look at his
contract before the team's assessment match with Slovenia. But with the delay
in giving him the greenlight for the job, he may have to wait in Europe to
receive the team,” a highly placed source at the GFA indicated on Monday.
In the absence of Millan, local coach Malik Jabir has been
mandated to solely collate the names of only foreign-based players who would be
eligible for the Black Stars trip to Slovenia. If all goes well, the team of
those foreign -based players already in Ghana is expected to leave Accra next
Monday to join those still in Europe early enough before the match on Friday 17
May.
Expected to be on Malik's list are Charles Amoah, Stephen
Appiah, Augustine Ahinful, Michael Essien, Derek Boateng, John Mensah, Kofi
Amponsah, Otto Addo, Ibrahim Razak, Kwame Ayew, Christian Gyan, Yakubu
Abubakari, Hans Adu Sarpei and Eric Addo among others. Key players who would be
missing out for obvious reasons are the former skipper C.K Akonnor, has
assistant, Samuel Osei Kuffour and Alex Nyarko.
GRi…/
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 07 May 2002 - Kumasi Asante Kotoko’s
obsession with expatriate coaches has taken yet another turn with the Scot Ian
Porterfield taking over the reins of the Porcupine Warriors, according to the
state-owned sports bi-weekly, Graphic Sports.
Porterfield was reported last week as warming up for a possible replacement of Ernst Middendorp who was said to be on his way out. And when the German eventually ended his 13-month romance last Thursday, the focus immediately shifted to his likely successor, with the former Trinidad and Tobago coach in pole position after losing the Black Stars’ vacant job to Yugoslav Millan Zivadinovic.
Porterfield on Monday morning conducted his first training session with his
newfound as he put the playing body through their paces ahead of Wednesday’s
league clash with Dawu Youngsters in Kumasi. The Scot told a Kumasi-based radio
station that he agreed to handle the FA Cup holders after watching them play
against South African champions, Santos, in their Cup Winners Cup match in
Kumasi.
He said he was attracted by the “passion” exhibited by the army of Kotoko fans, as well as the good “foundation and right direction” provided by the club’s management. He has reportedly signed a one-year renewable contract.
Porterfield, 56, becomes the fourth expatriate and second Briton to flirt with
Asante Kotoko in the last two decades after Englishman Ron Heckman, David Booth
(lasted one month) and Middendorp. The Scot brings along rich credentials as a
high profile footballer in his hey days and a coach of repute with top clubs
and some national teams. As a player, Porterfield starred for English clubs
like Sunderland, Raith Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday.
His coaching career began with Dundee United of Scotland and then English Premiership side, Chelsea, between 1992 and 1993. He had his first African experience months later when he took over the rebuilding of the Zambian team after the tragic air crash that wiped out almost the entire team. After leading them to the quarterfinal of the 1994 Nations Cup, Porterfield moved to Zimbabwe briefly, the Gulf State of Oman, before a year’s Caribbean stint with Trinidad and Tobago.
With Kotoko’s supporters expecting a successful season, it appears the Scot is
already geared up for the challenges ahead. “This could be a nice challenge. I
expect a good harvest and progress,” he aired adding that, “I’ve come here to
make Kotoko better”.
Immediately Middendorp exited, it was rumoured that former Kotoko coach, Malik Jabir, was likely to step in as a caretaker coach, but he flatly denied any link with the job as “baseless rumours”. Jabir, now elevated to the club’s Board of Directors, ruled out any future engagement with any club as it could one day lead to a conflict of interest with his new elevated role.
However, he left the door open for national teams as the only job that would attract him to return to coaching. He debunked the assertion by Middendorp that the Board interfered with his work, hence the German’s decision not to renew his contract with Kotoko.
Jabir said last week that Middendorp or any issue relating to the club’s
technical direction had never been discussed at any of the Board’s five
meetings so far. “We don’t even know the terms of his contract and anything
concerning his relationship with Kotoko, so from what position would we be
discussing him?” he queried.
But in what looks like carrying the recent confusion in the
Kotoko stable far, the Board of Directors say they are unaware of the signing
on of the new coach by the club. Board Chairman, Mr P.V. Obeng when contacted
by the Graphic Sports stated that the board has not been officially informed of
the signing of any new coach for Kotoko. He said the board members learned of
the appointment on air.
Meanwhile, information pieced together suggests that the
board is not going to sit down for the Herbert Mensah management to flagrantly
flout laid down policy guidelines of the club, the appointment of coaches
inclusive. Management, according to a reliable source, has no power to appoint
a coach without seeking the approval of the board.
Some distinguished followers of Kotoko who interacted with the leading sports paper separately and unanimously agreed that the board has to put its foot down in the face of management's decision to play to the gallery now. They said the board has come to stay and if management decides to circumvent it on matters of policy, it is the authority of the Spiritual head and owner of the club, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, that they are challenging.
"Whoever thinks he can hijack Kotoko from Manhyia must be the biggest
day-dreamer," one of them asserted. He said times have changed in Kotoko
and if the management thinks it can't work with the board, it must leave the
scene just like coach Middendorp did.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 07 May 2002 - Defending league champions, Accra Hearts of Oak, have expressed satisfaction about the excitement and competitiveness of the ongoing premier league.
A statement signed by Mr Ashford Tettey Oku, Administrative Manager of the club, noted that although the non-spnosored league is only four weeks old, “indications so far from all stakeholders- the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the Professional League Board (PLB), referees and fans point to a clean and fair season.”
It said spectatoring has been excellent in terms of attendance and comportment, believing that the FA’s threat to prosecute lawless fancs appear to be doing the trick. Hearts, however, called for the educational drive to be intensified “so as to reduce to the barest minimum any indiscretions from fans.”
The club also commended the referees for raising their performance to high notches, “however, there is more room for improvement and hopefully they will arrive.” What, perhaps, Hearts were not least enthused about was the fact that star players were not being protected enough.
It said it takes a lot of drive and effort to convince the fans to the stadium as well as keeping alive the interest of other stakeholders, thus, it’s very important to protect star players, who pull the crowd to the centres. “A league bereft of stars is not worth its name and, if fortunately the spirit is coming back, it behoves the referees to ensure that nothing is done to take us back to the old days, since they are also beneficiaries from qualitative league.”
“Some of the matches we have watched so far this season at the Accra Stadium have produced very brutal and career threatening tackles, one of which led to an unsporting knee-jerk reaction which was justifiably punished by expulsion, as in the case of Charles Taylor,” the statement added.
It observed that Articles from the FIFA-MARC (FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre) provides enough insight to subjects like head and brain injuries, and possible long-term changes to cerebral functions after repetitive injuries among others.
The statement observed that the only way stars can be kept is embedded in one of FIFA-MARC reports that referees should ensure fairplay and strict enforcement of the laws of the game as key factors for the reduction and prevention of injuries.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 07 May 2002 - Ghana's aspiring
middleweight champion, James 'Hot Ice' Toney will engage in a bout that might
rank him among the giants in his division at the Accra Stadium on Friday night.
After thrilling boxing fans in the capital with a classy show last weekend, boxing fans will get the opportunity to witness another great package from Ultimate Promotion and Management Syndicate, a premier boxing promotion consortium. Leading the seven-bout package dubbed "Repeat or Revenge" will be the international middleweight clash between Toney and the Africa Boxing Confederation unofficial champion Sodjinou Philbert of Benin.
The fight has been tipped to be a masterpiece as both boxers are said to be
preparing feverishly ahead of the bout to achieve greater heights in the sport.
"I am well conditioned. I have the rhythm and natural skills to dislodge
Sodjinou" no mather his strong opposition", the well-built Toney
declared in an interview.
Another exciting international clash on the night's bill will be the super-featherweight contest between Abdulai Aminu and Romet D. Gheti of Benin. The eight-round battle between the two boxers is expected to be action-packed and set to give fans their monies worth.
The next attractive duel on the bill will be the national and West Africa super
lightweight championship between Stephen Okai and Moro Tijani. Both Okai and
Tijani are poised to use the impending fight to launch their career on the
international scene.
And with their pride and image at stake, the ex-champions from the Black
Panthers and Believers camps respectively are said to be giving nothing to
chance.
In the national and West Africa flyweight championship
clash, the pride of Fire Service, Sumaila Badu will challenge Wilson Asamoah
for the sole honour in the division. The super middleweight contest is also
likely to produce a thriller as Daniel Sackey and Joe Addo will have a point to
prove when they engage in a crucial battle they have long been waiting for in
earnest.
The night's package will be climaxed with the national and West Africa bantamweight championship between Anyomi Savondra and Anyetei Laryea, while Alfred Tetteh and Aminu Turkson sort things out in the catchweight division to end the night's package.
GRi…/
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